The Democrats' Problem With
Democracy

If the Democrats fail to elect their presidential candidate
and allow the "Super delegates" to select him/her in the
smoke-filled back rooms at the convention in Denver, the
Democrats could create a long-term problem with their base.
This, along with the decision to disenfranchise the
Democratic voters in Florida and Michigan, could prove to be
the Democrats' problem with democracy. In order to
understand why the super delegate issue could be a problem,
it is important to understand why the rules were created in
the first place. For that, you have to go back to the 1968
Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.

1968
was a very tumultuous year in American history and politics.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in April
and Sen. Robert Kennedy (D-New York) was assassinated in
June. Protests for civil rights and against the Vietnam War
were at their height. These issues and others carried over
into the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago,
Illinois, resulting in violent protests as students and
others struggled to have their voices heard by the
Democratic Party leadership. As a result of these clashes,
the Democratic Party modified its rules for future elections
to make the committed delegate selection process of their
presidential nominee more inclusive and Democratic. The
process would reflect the votes and interests of women and
minorities, and not necessarily the wishes of the party
leadership.

Well, democracy is not an exact science, and
in 1972, following the new rules, the Democrats nominated
Sen. George McGovern as their presidential candidate. As an
anti-Vietnam war advocate and liberal, Senator McGovern was
soundly beaten by incumbent President Richard Nixon. In
1976, the Democrats nominated Jimmy Carter and the country
elected the relatively unknown governor, even though Carter
was not the favorite of party leadership.

As a result of
these experiences and based upon the desire to reclaim
control of the nominating process, the Democratic Party
leadership implemented the "unpledged party leader and
elected official delegates," or the "super delegate." Super
delegates are a group of approximately 794 Democratic
senators, members of Congress, governors, former presidents
and vice presidents, and other party officials. These
individuals are not committed to candidates, as is the case
with state delegates. They can vote for whomever they
choose.

Neither Senator Obama nor Senator Clinton will
arrive in Denver in August with the 2,024 delegates needed
to secure the nomination on the first ballot. It looks like
Senator Obama will go to the Democratic National Convention
with more committed delegates than Senator Clinton, but shy
of the 2,024 needed to clinch the nomination. His argument
will be that the party elites should not override what a
majority of the Democratic electorate has indicated. Senator
Obama will talk about expanding the party. He will point to
the independents and moderate Republicans that have joined
his "movement." He will argue that if the party elites
ignore his coalition ,it will be the death knell of
Democratic politics for decades to come.

Senator Clinton
will make the electability argument. The calculus is since
it will take 270 of the 538 available electoral votes to
win, there are six states, the "Big Six," that must be won
in order to capture the White House. These states are
California (55), New York (31), Pennsylvania (21), Illinois
(21), Michigan (17) and Ohio (20), for a total of 165
electoral votes. Since she has already won primaries in New
York, California, Ohio, and other states that a Democrat
must win, she is more electable. In her mind, she stands the
better chance of beating Senator McCain in November.

Both
arguments have merit, and this issue will cause great
consternation at the Democratic convention. The Democratic
process is designed to allow "We the People" to express our
views and have our elected officials carry them out. On the
other hand, the nominating process is designed to field the
candidate that puts his/her party in the best position to be
elected. After all, a politician's primary job is to get
elected.

The Democratic Party elite must do some real
soul searching and ask themselves what the party truly stand
for. Are they willing to risk a Democratic Party implosion
if Senator Obama maintains his lead in pledged delegates,
but the super delegates select Senator Clinton as their
nominee? Even though the super delegate process is within
the rules of the party, African-Americans, in particular,
would feel totally disenfranchised by the party that has
benefited from their uncompromising loyalty for more than 40
years. This move would only validate the pitch that
Republicans have been making to African-Americans about the
minimal rewards for blind loyalty. Why continue to provide
your support to a party that refuses to support you?
Independents and other moderate voters would also be well
within their rights to abandon the party that did not carry
out their wishes. It could create a very real and long-term
problem for a short-term risk that has no guarantee of
paying off.

The Democrats, other problem is risking the
alienation of voters in Michigan and Florida, two states
that have very strong Democratic ties. As it stands today,
neither state's Democratic citizenry will have their voices
heard in a primary nor will they have their delegates seated
at the convention. This seems to have been no more than a
power play on behalf of the party leadership for the sake of
a power play. Again, it is a perceived short-term gain that
has created a real long-term problem.

Here's the simple
solution: In Florida, the Republican-led state government
will not agree to foot the bill at state taxpayers' expense,
nor should they. Since both the Clinton and Obama campaigns
signed onto this bad idea, both campaigns and the Democratic
Party should pay for a revote if this can be done in time.
Why would the Obama campaign agree to this? Even if he loses
this primary, the delegates Senator Clinton gains would not
dramatically cut into his lead. He is selling the sleeves
off of his vest. He gains more in the long run in the court
of public opinion by looking magnanimous and truly committed
to the democratic process.

In Michigan, since Senator
Obama agreed to stay off the ballot, but Senator Clinton
remained on the ballot as "uncommitted," the Obama campaign
and the Democratic Party should split the cost of a revote
there. In both states, it's more important to secure the
confidence of Democratic voters than risk alienating their
base in future elections.

John Adams once said,
"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes,
exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy
yet that did not commit suicide." If the Democrats don't
follow the will of their voters and fail to reconcile with
Michigan and Florida, they will, as they did in 2000 and
2004, snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. It will be
political suicide. The Democrats will be accused of having a
problem with
democracy.

*************

Dr. Wilmer Leon is the producer/host of the
nationally broadcast call-in talk radio program "On With
Leon," Producer/host of the television program "Inside the
Issues With Wilmer Leon," a regular guest on CNN's "Lou
Dobb's Tonight," and a teaching associate in the Department
of Political Science at Howard University in Washington, DC.
Go to www.wilmerleon.com or email: wjl3us@yahoo.com.

This is an opportunity for you as one of the 4 million potential funders and recipients of a Universal Basic Income to collectively consider the issue:1. Is UBI is a desirable policy for New Zealand; and2. How should a UBI system work in practice. More>>

The National party has announced its youth justice policy, which includes a controversial plan for recidivist serious youth offenders to be hit over the head with a comically large rubber mallet. More>>

ALSO:

It's been brought to my attention that Labour's new campaign slogan is "Let's do this". A collective call to action. A mission. I myself was halfway out of the couch before I realised I wasn't sure what it was I was supposed to do. More>>

ALSO:

Ordinary citizens have had very few venues where they can debate and discuss as to what they believe has led to the crisis in affordable housing and how we might begin to address this. The HiveMind on affordable housing was about redressing the balance. More>>

ALSO:

This is an opportunity for you as one of the 4 million guardians of our common water resources to help us find mutually agreeable solutions to the critical task of collectively managing these resources for health and sustainability. More>>